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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 4.
Published in final edited form as: Sci Transl Med. 2014 Jun 4;6(239):239sr1. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005101

Fig. 1. Imaging cellular processes and inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques.

Fig. 1

Inflammatory atherosclerosis can be diagnosed and monitored by clinical and preclinical imaging methods, some of which require the administration of targeted agents. Preclinically, key inflammation imaging techniques include macrophage imaging in the vessel wall with nanoparticles, adhesion molecule imaging, or protease-specific agents, whereas splenic monocytes that migrate to the plaque can be monitored by intravital microscopy. In a clinical setting, MRI can visualize macrophage burden in human plaques, whereas dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and FDG-PET/CT allow the quantification of plaque neovessel permeability and inflammation, respectively. Lowercase roman numerals match imaging approach to location in the atherosclerotic vessel. Image in (iii) obtained from (35) with permission; in (iv), from (90) with permission; in (v), from (53) with permission. Image in (vi) is an original image from Z.A.F.